There are three boat companies that offer services from the main land to Vancouver Island; BC Ferries, Hullo and Coho. 

• BC Ferries​​​

  • Horseshoe Bay is located in Central Nanaimo and services to Horseshoe Bay. 

  • Duke Point is located 20 minutes south of Nanaimo with services to Horseshoe Bay and Tsawassen.

  • Reservations are strongly recommended. There are various booking costs based on vehicle size, passengers and sailing time (early and late ferries are cheaper)

  • Crossing is 1hr40min (from horseshoe bay) and 2 hrs (from Tsawassen)

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• Hullo

  • Connects downtown Vancouver with downtown Nanaimo​

  • Passenger-only ferry, no car

  • There are taxis and shuttle services available at each terminal

  • Crossing is 70 minutes

• Coho (USA Ferry Services)

  • Services between Victoria and Port Angeles WA. ​

  • Crossing is 90 minutes

Nanaimo offers three options when traveling by air.

• YCD - Nanaimo Airport

  • Services to various airports​

  • The airport is located 20 minutes south 

  • There are taxis and rental car kiosks available at the terminal

  • It is not an international airport, you will not be able to fly directly from the US to Nanaimo.

• Float Planes

  • Harbour Air offers flights between Nanaimo Harbour and downtown Vancouver. Including various coastal airports. ​

  • Seair Seaplanes offers scheduled flights between Nanaimo and YVR/Richmond

• Helijet

  • A more premium option to travel that goes betweeen YVR and downtown to Nanaimo​